This is a Chelsea predicted lineup for their clash with Newcastle United in the Premier League’s Monday Night Football fixture. The Blues come into this off the back of two consecutive draws in this competition with a lengthy list of absentees to boot.
Djordje Petrović has been the main option between the sticks with Robert Sanchez being the cup goalkeeper at the minute. The defensive makeup has been changed around due to injuries but Malo Gusto, Ben Chilwell, Levi Colwill, Axel Disasi, and Trevoh Chalobah have been the core five to occupy the defensive spots.
The defensive midfield pairing of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez has been undroppable with the duo starting together as much as possible. The attacking setup has seen Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke, Conor Gallagher, Raheem Sterling, and Mykhailo Mudryk start with Nico Jackson leading the line.
There was a switch to a front two against Brentford, and when out of possession against Manchester City with Palmer or Gallagher joining Jackson up top.
After sticking to a 4-2-3-1 all season we have seen Mauricio Pochettino flex his tactical ability with a 4-4-2 and a 3-5-2 being used in previous Premier League ties. Both results ended in draws but did see some improvements over the 4-2-3-1 shape that he’s utilised all season.
With only two wins in their last five and no clean sheets, there are obvious issues to fix if they want to turn things around. They certainly don’t lack any goalscoring ability after putting three past Leeds and scoring twice against Brentford, but defensively they’ll need to be better.
After a brief reprieve from injuries, the latest update has swelled once again with some new names added to the sidelines. The main source of good news is Carney Chukwuemeka is back in full training and could feature against Newcastle.
To counter that, starters Gallagher, Chilwell, and Colwill are now unavailable. They are joined by Benoit Badiashile who is in partial team training but likely isn’t fit to play and the long term absentees Wesley Fofana, Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Lesley Ugochukwu, and Christopher Nkunku.
Despite the switch to a back three against the Bees looking effective, Pochettino doesn’t appear to have the man power to continue with that setup so there’s likely to be a return to the 4-2-3-1 setup here.
GK – Djordje Petrović
LB – Malo Gusto
CB – Thiago Silva
CB – Axel Disasi
RB – Alfie Gilchrist
DM – Moises Caicedo
DM – Enzo Fernandez
AM – Raheem Sterling
AM – Carney Chukwuemeka
AM – Cole Palmer
ST – Nicolas Jackson
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